I started this website in 1998 for the course BIOS 353 Virology at Lehigh University, and I've updated it each time I taught the course. The lecture links below are updated as of spring semester of 2007. This course website has been selected for inclusion in the Natioanl Leadership Resource Database by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, "To express our appreciation for your contribution to our efforts to promote liberal education and to engage students in learning for our common health."
In this advanced course, we will study viruses at the levels of their molecular biology and genetics, and their interactions with the host organism. Our coverage will focus almost entirely on viruses that infect humans and cause serious disease. We will take a comparative approach, and ask questions from a biophysical and evolutionary perspective.
Useful websites for up-to-date viral disease information are the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (including its journal Emerging Infectious Diseases) and the World Health Organization. There are many journals publishing new virology research; the ones we will use the most are Science , Nature, Journal of Virology , Journal of General Virology , Virology , and Journal of Infectious Diseases.
Summer 2009 Influenza Update: Updated information on the 2009 novel influenza A (H1N1) ("swine flu") can be found in the links above, at The New England Journal of Medicine's H1N1 Influenza Center, and at PandemicFlu.gov.
Grading : Half of your grade will be based on participation, discussions, assignments, quizzes, and presentations during the semester: 1. "professional level discussion/assignment" days during January and February; 2. "short journal article" presentations in late March and early April; 3. "long journal article presentations" in mid-late April; and 4. "announced quizzes" as deemed appropriate. The other half of your grade will be based on a final exam in May. You should establish a notebook for all of the material in this course. Build the notebook into a thorough, complete document (your own "Virology Textbook") by the end of the semester. The final exam will be "open notebook".
Jan 15 Course Organization and Introduction
Jan 17 Introduction (continued), with Biophysical Calculations
Jan 19 Virus Classification and Structures
Jan 22 Virus Classification and Structures (continued)
Jan 24 Attachment and Penetration into Cells
Jan 26 Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
Jan 29 Replication of Herpesviruses (dsDNA genome)
Jan 31 Replication of Poxviruses (dsDNA genome)
Feb. 2 Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
Feb. 5 Replication of Picornaviruses (Pos.-sense ssRNA genome)
Feb. 7 Replication of Orthomyxoviruses (Neg.-sense ssRNA genome)
Feb. 9 Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
Feb 12 Replication of Reoviruses (dsRNA genome)
Feb 14 Replication of Retroviruses (ssRNA genome, reverse transcribing)
Feb 16 Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
Feb 19 Immune Response to Viral Infection
Feb 21 Viral Vaccines
Feb 23 Professional-level Discussion and/or Assignment
Feb 26 Antiviral Drugs
Feb 28 Antiviral Drugs (cont.)
Mar. 2 Spring Break begins. Information for Student Presentations
Mar 12 Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution
Mar 14 Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution (continued)
Mar 16 Influenza Epidemiology and Evolution (continued)
Mar 19 HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 1
Mar 21 HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 2
Mar 23 HIV Epidemiology and Evolution, Part 3
Mar 26-April 9 Student Presentations from Emerging Infectious Diseases
April 11-April 27 Student Presentations from Virology, Journal of Virology, and Journal of Infectious Diseases
2009: J. A. Sands